Mr Peter Bray, a 43-year-old kayaker from England, last night celebrated with a pint of Guinness in Porturlin, Co Mayo, after becoming the first man to cross the Atlantic in a kayak.
He said the pint and a chat with friends was what he dreamed about for 75 days as he battled his way through storms and high seas in his purpose-built 24-foot kayak.
He set off from Newfoundland on June 23rd, aiming for Killybegs in Co Donegal.
After hailing Mr Martin O'Donnell's trawler yesterday evening he made for Porturlin.
A helicopter later airlifted him to Killybegs, where his family and support team were waiting.
Mr Bray said the crossing had been terrible. "In the first month there were 17 storms and two gales. I just had to sit there and ride it out - it was horrendous. The weather was so bad I couldn't cook, so it was cold meals all the way across."
Mr Bray lectures in outdoor education in Wales. He spent 15 years in the SAS.
Last year Mr Bray's first attempt ended when his kayak sank and his life-raft foundered, leaving him clinging to a fishing buoy for 31 hours.
Mr Bray has raised almost £100,000 for the Rainbow Children's Hospices in England with his voyage.